Radio-controlled “battles” have traditionally been thought of as races in which people compete to see whose car, plane, or helicopter can go faster. However, a new sort of battle is making it’s way to the R/C category: the battling robot.

Tomy’s Battroborg robot

This shift in the competitive nature of R/C toys is very cool to me. Two of my favorite battling robot products this year were Tomy International’s Battroborg line and Wow! Stuff’s Combat CreaturesAttacknids. The Battroborg line was like R/C Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots. Battroborg is the first battling micro robot brand of its kind, which two-handed motion-controlled nunchucks that let the opponents control the robot’s motion with their own jabs. The Battroborg robots register hits and indicate when the ultimate battling champion has been victorious.

Whether you’re battling one-on-one, or in a battle royale of up to 10 robots in the three-in-one Battle arena, the Battroborg robots get the player to be more active with the R/C. It may be my competitive nature, but the brief battle has the fighter racing with quick jabs, trying to avoid hits with their whole arms, as opposed to just the thumbs with a traditional R/C controller. Battling robot lines get the player more involved in the “race.”

Wow! Stuff’s Combat Creatures Attacknid

The Attacknids are six-legged battling machines and the first in Wow! Stuff’s new Combat Creatures line of battling robotics. The Attacknids are 10 inches tall and move with realistic spider-like movements. Their Battle Head rotates a full 360 degrees. Their Bolt ‘N Battle Combat Armor explodes off when hit and their interchangeable blasters fire up to 30 feet and can be raised or lowered. The Attacknids’ weapon system includes three different rapid repeat blasters, which clip on an off in seconds and include Dissector Discs, Snyper Darts, and Destroyer Spheres.

Controlled by a wireless R/C handset with 2.4 Ghz chip technology, thousands of robots can battle at one time. Multiple Attacknids can also be controlled from the same handset. These creatures were incredible to see in action and were different from the usual R/C vehicles I saw up and down the aisles at Toy Fair.

For more commentary from Ali, check back each Thursday afternoon. Views expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Toy Book as a whole. We hope that you will share your comments and feedback below. Until next time!

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